--- title: "Saltburn: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/saltburn/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/saltburn" critics_score: 65 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Saltburn (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 65 from 13 reviews: 7 positive, 4 mixed, 2 negative. The reviews divide sharply, and the split is over one question: whether style is enough. Most critics agree the film looks handsome and moves with confidence, and nearly all of them praise the cast, with Barry Keoghan’s lead and Rosamund Pike’s rude, funny Elspeth named most often; Richard E. Grant gets his share of credit too. The reservations gather around what lies underneath. Several critics call it derivative, pointing to The Talented Mr Ripley and Brideshead Revisited, and many find the class satire thin, more interested in shocks than in observation. Oliver himself is a recurring complaint, described as a blank. The spread is wide. The Playlist finds it bold and operatic and forgives it almost everything, while Little White Lies and Vulture find it silly and empty beneath the glamour. In between, a large middle group enjoy it as trash, say so happily, and then wish it had more to say. ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 3 November 2023. Fennell’s deliciously dark comedy is a heady joy that skewers the English class system with sharp wit and captures the hollowness beneath the wealthy’s cosseted lives, buoyed by strong performances. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/saltburn-2023) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2023. The class satire is diabolically clever with ingenious twists and gleefully derisive attention to the mansion's absurdities, but there is a void at its center as the protagonist remains a blank vessel for obvious class anxiety and sexual desire. The implied film with deeper psychology and motives is better than the actual one, which feels like an elaborately decorated simulacrum. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/saltburn-is-a-brideshead-for-the-incel-age) ## Slant Magazine — Marshall Shaffer Rating 2/4. 8 November 2023. Tries to pass off bombastic provocations as a substitute for interesting observations about class and identity; a banal bacchanal that prioritizes aesthetics over analysis. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell-barry-keoghan/) ## The AV Club — Courtney Howard Rating C-. 15 November 2023. Derivative dramedy that fails to hit the mark despite strong performances; fumbles character construction and misjudges the audience's intellect. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/saltburn-movie-review-emerald-fennell-barry-keoghan-1851017717) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 4/2/2. 15 November 2023. Fennell's stylish second feature starts as an entertaining dramedy about class but veers into ridiculousness, feeling hollow and frustrating in its understanding of class dynamics beneath its glamorous veneer. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/saltburn/) ## Vulture — Alison Willmore Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2023. The critic finds the film full of strong vibes and seductive imagery but ultimately silly and empty, with a fondness for button-pushing endings that undermine the buildup. It is more about luscious montages of rich life than meaningful provocation. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/saltburn-review-vibes-and-empty-provocations.html) ## Empire — Sophie Butcher 14 November 2023. The critic praises the confident direction, vivid noughties setting, charismatic cast and visual style, but faults the thin characters, clunky dialogue and writing that prioritizes shocks over substance, leaving a mixed impression. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/saltburn/) ## Evening Standard — Ella Kemp 22 December 2023. The critic calls the film a deliciously twisty and ridiculous tale of overprivilege, highlighting its strong cast, aesthetic pleasures and gifted direction while noting its familiarity and focus on class, desire and deception. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/saltburn-movie-review-barry-keoghan-jacob-elordi-emerald-fennell-b1110316.html) ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Rating 6. 16 November 2023. A splashy satire of wealth and privilege that feels like Highsmith without the wit, dabbling in class and psychology with shock tactics but little insight, though the comic register with supporting cast is hugely enjoyable. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/d8a2f980-0b76-4f9e-ba83-c0ddd97ba0f2) ## Los Angeles Times — Amy Nicholson 17 November 2023. The critic describes a cold-blooded heart-clencher about inequality and class envy in which one vulture swoops in to feed. It singles out the precise direction, editing, and needle drops along with the nerve-racking transgressive sex scenes and strong performances for praise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-11-17/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell-barry-keoghan-jacob-elordi-rosamund-pike) ## Screen Daily 1 September 2023. Festival review. Fennell delivers a spikily entertaining, narratively rackety class satire drawing from Waugh and Highsmith, led by a formidable Barry Keoghan and featuring richly comic turns from the ensemble. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/saltburn-telluride-review/5185363.article) ## Sight and Sound 16 November 2023. The critic finds Fennell’s eat-the-rich satire tired, showy and hollow, with superficial characters and flashy but meaningless visuals that fail to deliver genuine drama or tension. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/saltburn-ostentatious-black-comedy-designed-shock) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 19 November 2023. Fennell's follow-up indulges in an untrammelled, wayward tale lacking character coherence, logic and pacing. Rosamund Pike as Elspeth provides some perverse pleasures as a gloriously rude presence. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/19/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell-barry-keoghan-rosamund-pike-indulgent-country-house-thriller) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 31 August 2023. Festival review. The critic calls it a stylish but derivative and ultimately silly patchwork of borrowed ideas from films like Brideshead Revisited and The Talented Mr. Ripley. It is juicy and often wickedly funny, especially thanks to the supporting turns from Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant, but lacks real insight. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/saltburn-review-barry-keoghan-jacob-elordi-emerald-fennell-1235577882/) ## The i Paper — Christina Newland 16 November 2023. The critic finds the film seductive and stylish to watch, with strong performances and visual flair, but ultimately unfocused and condescending, treating characters as pawns in uneven plotting that lacks real emotional depth or perceptive class commentary. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell-class-satire-2754072) ## The New York Times — Alissa Wilkinson 2 February 2024. The critic enjoyed the film as a deliberately jocular, silly gothic campus and great-house tale whose transgressive elements and plot are diversions from its candy-coated form. She singles out its sumptuous, gleeful style for praise over any deeper satirical content. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/movies/saltburn-movie-satire.html) ## The Telegraph 21 December 2023. Fennell's anarchic class satire is a macabre, uproarious Brideshead regurgitated that is outrageously watchable, drunk on its own daring with terrific performances and fearless visuals. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/saltburn-review-brideshead-regurgitated/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★☆☆. 17 November 2023. Fennell takes judicious swipes at grotesque privilege in a biting film propped up by one-liners and deranged charms of the Catton family, though Oliver is a nonsense character. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/saltburn-film-review-wzg08n6n2) ## Variety — Peter Debruge 31 August 2023. Festival review. The critic finds the film big on style but thin on substance, a vicious 'Talented Mr. Ripley' knockoff with attitude but nothing new to say. It praises the splashy look, visual sense, and colorful performances while criticizing the lack of originality, plausible psychology, and failure to rise above similar films. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell-barry-keoghan-1235705894/) ## The Playlist — Gregory Ellwood Rating A-. 1 September 2023. Festival review. Fennell delivers a bold, audacious, fearless film with spectacular performances, especially Keoghan, pushing boundaries in a wild, operatic way, ripping the ruling class, though with minor quibbles on length. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/saltburn-telluride-review-barry-keoghans-emerald-fennell-posh-big-boy-summer-is-truly-wild-20230901/) ## /Film — Jacob Hall Rating 8.5/10. 23 September 2023. Festival review. The critic calls the film one of 2023's bleakest comedies and a seductive monster movie in the vein of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley stories. They single out Barry Keoghan's outstanding, riveting performance as the cunning, morally bankrupt lead for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1402489/saltburn-review-barry-keoghan-outstanding-2023-bleakest-comedy/) ## Film Stories — Maria Lattila Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2023. The critic finds Saltburn a gloriously trashy and sexy thriller that's hugely enjoyable as pure entertainment, praising its handsome visuals, strong casting especially Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi, and camp approach to masculinity, while noting it's not substantial or deep. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/saltburn-review-emerald-fennells-sophomore-film-is-gloriously-trashy-and-sexy/) ## NME — Alex Flood Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2023. The critic finds Emerald Fennell's follow-up to Promising Young Woman an intoxicating, funny satire of class and obsession that builds to shocking brutality and a gripping finale. They single out Rosamund Pike's hilarious supporting performance as the film's standout element. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/saltburn-review-party-with-the-poshos-in-the-naughty-noughties-3541554) ## Collider — Emma Kiely Rating B. 22 November 2023. Festival review. The film lacks deeper meaning or bite and adds nothing new to the recent wave of 'eat the rich' stories. It stands out for its strong cast performances, exquisite cinematography, and the amusing juxtaposition of opulent estates with modern banalities and pop culture. [Read the review](https://collider.com/saltburn-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2023. Festival review. Fennell delivers heaps of directorial finesse and agile vision in this eccentric, gaudy gothic dark comedy that feels marvelously British. Barry Keoghan is brilliant as the intense, duplicitous lead, though the film stumbles with over-explained twists and an odd aspect ratio. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell/) ## Consequence — Clint Worthing Rating C+. 14 November 2023. Saltburn offers a glorious, alluring surface with a sexy cast and psychosexual games but feels like an uneven gumbo that gestures toward satire without landing deeper blows. The provocative clash of old and new is noted but ultimately shallow. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2023/11/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell/) ## Deadline — Todd McCarthy 31 August 2023. Festival review. The critic finds Emerald Fennell’s sophomore feature a vibrant if familiar class satire with an undeniable life force and strong direction, though the story trajectory feels overwrought and the tone shifts awkwardly in the second half. Keoghan’s lead performance and the lively writing are singled out for praise amid some eccentric casting choices that disrupt the balance. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2023/08/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell-barry-koeghan-jacob-elordi-1235533586/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/saltburn.md